Where people talk, but don't really learn. Where the label on the category door is more important than the stuff and stuffed inside. Where the meaning and the context of a good word is lost in your particular labelling. If you are "lucky" you may just shut the door on further discussion.Not good science ,but common wannabe, media, education and "leadership "practice in Australia.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Secular and secularism - not the same thing

Andrews Labor Victorian government have decided this August 2015 , despite one of the most honored social school experiments and a full history of over one hundred years of opportunity to engage , to put the subject of faith outside the curriculum and minds of all state school children, forever. Mr Daniel Andrews says its simply not important enough . For the first time in Australian schools , kids we will be told "its not important enough " to ever get mentioned ever.( spare us the window dressing) Puts a new meaning to the idea of a dry area .Most parents who used to send their children to state schools will disagree with him.

Daniels must change their minds - for the sake of the kids and the sharing of values and ideas .Elected leaders must face the shallow nonsense of those who advocate these changes - right now !

Confused are you - well join the club . Fairfax the man who set up our first papers wasn't confused ( his theology and practice sound) The State School system he helped set up has served Australia to socialize its children very well . So why in the world do we want to change what has worked so well in Australia? Its probably not perfect but it has worked well to keep us happy to participate in State Schools - up to now

Whats the panic ? Islam? Probably ! The scardicats and woort warriors are busy - afraid to play the game in the playground! Why do we so easily take away schools independence and right to decide and give it to the secularist faith alone ? Would it not be better to have this fear dealt with out in the open like it has been for decades , A completely secular school would be a school for the mentally handicapped .

What's the ideologues within the Education Department excuse for this change at this time ? What makes them so wise ? is Parliament on the ball or just now an old folks home for sleepy sentimental stuff ?

Some dull witted Victorian ideologues think they can remove the old but real tensions, problems and threats that faith drives , informs and motivates. Their magic wand ministrations is to take the factors out of the formula -- by physically taking them away . "poof " and they are gone . No more problems
Normal thinking and mentally stable people face their fears and the reality that faith will motivate ---- let all faiths compete for a space in the curriculum, as they could before. Out in the openDefining secular is fine and helpful but secularism says there is only one category for knowledge . Secularism simply limits the scope for knowledge

The result of this major historic change ,( if its not reversed ) The result will not be a big frame for Victorian State schools but a holy huddle. You can often tell a religious use of a word by the endearing love and pride with which the authors entreat its wholeness. Secular helps us define the uncontroversial in education so teachers can get on with the job of training minds around facts and fomulae. When what we know from mere formulate starts to limit our appreciation of the possibility of more we limit our education to the mundane.

One is a category, the latter is a religion . The former allows us to argue productively about where the boundary is between the secular and the sacred. Some think they will abolish the tension by dissolving the distinction in their favor . We all have different opinions about where that boundary is, so, how have schools involving a wide range of faith systems worked? On the current well tested principle of separation and respect for both. The way it should stay
Better to have the boundary than not having it , Gives us all a starting point for a good debate .

1 comment:

Brilliant . We will not be welcome to help teach controversial stuff we will keep setting up our own schools and State schools will be all the poorer; totally safe and boring and preoccupied with being so. How long before Santa is banned /